76ers’ Joel Embiid suffers orbital bone fracture, concussion, listed as out

If the 76ers are going to knock off the top-seeded Heat in what shapes up to be an intense second-round matchup, Joel Embiid is going to have to have a monster series despite a torn right thumb ligament and outplay Bam Adebayo.

Now comes word Embiid has an orbital bone fracture — around the eye socket — and concussion, and he is currently listed as out heading into Game 1, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic and confirmed by the 76ers (via Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia).

Per the Sixers: Joel Embiid suffered a right orbital fracture and mild concussion in last night’s game. He’s out and “further updates will be provided as appropriate.”

— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) April 30, 2022

The injury occurred Thursday with four minutes left in a game where the 76ers were ahead by 29, when Pascal Siakam drove the lane and inadvertently elbowed Embiid in the face.

The play where Joel Embiid got injured pic.twitter.com/GYWDUxupoU

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 30, 2022

This is potentially devastating news for the 76ers. Embiid is the heart of the 76ers offense — he averaged 26.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the first round (also, he led the league in scoring at 30.6 points per game in the regular season) — and also is critical as a rim-protecting defender.

This puts more scoring pressure on James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, going against an elite Heat defense that was fourth-best in the league in the regular season, then shut down Trae Young and the Hawks in the first round.

There are two injuries here. The orbital bone fracture could mean he is out days — returning with a mask to protect the fracture — or weeks, depending on the details of the injury and if surgery is needed, according to